What's Next for Bitcoin? Government Makes Banks the Beat Cop

With the government cracking down on digital currency players such as Liberty Reserve and Mt. Gox, many ask whether it's a move to squash the development of virtual currencies and what action the government will take next. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's director, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, recently stated that she considers digital currencies an example of the "great innovation " taking place in financial services  but the companies that handle digital currencies have "obligations to protect the U.S. financial system from money laundering [that] need to be taken seriously." This means the success or failure of Bitcoin and other currencies rests upon the businesses that choose to support them. Regulators "prefer that the banks solve this problem for themselves, and if they don't, then they will sanction the bank for ineffective controls, as opposed to chasing dow...